Cotton-chopper.



PATENTED FEB. 7, 1905.

W. R. SELF.

COTTON CHOPPER.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 17, 1904.

Wihyzsses Patented February '7, 1905.

WILLIAM R. SELF, OF NEWTON, NORTH CAROLIN COTTON-CHOPPER.

SFECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,790, dated February '7, 1905. Application filed February 17,1904. Serial N 194,085.

Be itknown thatl, \ViLLiAuR. SELF, a citii angles to the axle 8.

zen of the United States, residing at Newton,

in the county of Catawba and State of North (ar(' lina, have invented a new and useful Cotton-(hoppen of which the followingisa specilication.

This invention relates to cottonchoppers, and especially to cotton-chopping attachments for barrows, cultivator-s, and similar implements used for cultivating the soil.

The invention has for its object to provide a device of this class which shall be simple in 1 construction, durable and efficient in operation, which may be produced at a small expcnse, and which may be very readily connected with or detached from the cultivating implement in connection with which it is to be used.

\Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the improved constructioi'i, arrangement, and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view showing my improved cottonchoppingattachmentconnected with theframc of a harrow of ordinary construction. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the device dctached. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similarnumerals of re ferencc.

.\Iy improved cotton-chopping attachment comprises a pair of longitudinal frame-beams 1 2, the rear ends of which are connected and spaced apart by a cross-piece 3, having notches or recesses 4E for the accommodatitm of the rear ends of said side pieces, and which said crosspiecc extends laterally from the longi- I tudinal frame-piece 2, so as to form a bracket 1 (S. A similar bracket '7 is secured to and extends laterally from the frame-piece 2 a short The inner end of the axle S carries The side i is journaled in the brackets 6 and T at right The shaft 12 extends rearwardly of the cross-piece 3 and has a spacing-collar l3 and a chopping implement comprising a plurality of radiating arms 1%, each carrying at its outer end a blade U), which is disposed eccentrically to the shaft 12. The blades 15 constitute the chopping-hoes, and their ends are cut off obliquely, as shown, the earth-engaging end of each blade, which is the end spaced farthest apart from the axis of the. shaft 12, being provided with an earthengaging point 16. which when the device is in operation operatively engages the soil.

1T designates a harrow or cultivator which is of ordinary construction and which is provided with an upwardly-extending lug 18, with which the front ends of the side beams l 2 of my improved attachment are hingcdly connected by means of a transverse bolt 19. The cultivator-framc 17 is provided with handles 24), by means of which the combined device may be conveniently guided.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto an ncxcd, the operation and ad vantages of this invention will be readily understood. My improved cotton-chopping attachment may, as will be readily seen, be connected with or detached from any suitably-constructed cultivating imple- Inent by means of the single connecting-bolt 19, which forms a pivot upon which the frame of thc cotton-chopping attachment may swing up and down. so as to adapt itself to inequalities in the surface of the ground. When the machine progresses, the ground engaging wheel 9 will through the medium of the bevelgearing ll) ll impart a rotary motion to the shaft 12 carrying the chopper, the blades of which will engage the row of growing plants at intervals, thus thinning the row by removing the surplus plants.

It will be observed that this invention is in the nature of an attachment to a cultivating implement and that the latter may be either a harrow, a cultivator, or any other well-known implement of the class referred to. My im proved attachment is specially constructed in such a manner as to provide a special narrow frame having an earth-engaging wheel and which may be connected hingedly with a suitable post or lug at one side of the cultivating implement and which may be readily bolted to the latter in such a position that the cotton-chopping device, which is supported by lateral extensions of the frame carrying the ground-engaging wheel, shall be properly centered with relation to the cultivating implement, while the earth-engaging Wheel will travel uponand engage the ground at one side of the row. The front ends of the side members of the frame which carries the earth-engaging wheel are therefore not connected, but will be suitably spaced apart by the post with which the said frame is connected by means of the hinge-bolt 19. This arrangement also obviously provides for an up-and-down play of the frame carrying the ground-wheel and with which the cotton-chopping devices are also connected in the manner described.

The device, as will be seen from the foregoing, is extremely simple in its construction, and the chopping device will be found extremely efiicient in removing the surplus growth, while the cultivating implement with which it is connected will stir and agitate the soil, thus permitting the growth of such plants as are left standing.

I desire it to be understood that while I have in the foregoing described a simple and preferred construction of my invention I do not necessarily limit myself to the precise structural details therein set forth, but reserve the right to any changes, alterations, and modifications which may be resorted to within the scope of-my invention and without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the efliciency of the same.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A cotton-chopping attachment comprising a pair of longitudinal side beams, a rear cross-bar connecting and spacing apart the said side beams and having a lateral extension forming a bracket, an auxiliary bracket extending from one of the side pieces, an axle journaled in said side pieces, a ground-engaging wheel mounted upon the axle between said side pieces, a shaft journaled in the laterallyextending brackets, miter-gearing connecting said shaft with the axle, and a cotton-chopping implement upon the rear end of said shaft.

2. The combination with a cultivating implement having an upwardly-extending post, of a cotton-chopping attachment comprising a frame having disconnected front ends ad apted to engage the opposite sides of the post and connected with the latter by means of ahingebolt, a ground-engaging wheel journaled between the side pieces of said hinged frame, a rear cross-barconnecting and spacing apart the said side beams and having a lateral extension forming a bracket, an auxiliary bracket extending from one of the side piecesfa shaft journaled in said laterally-extending brackets at right angles to the axle of the ground-engaging wheel, means for transmitting motion from the latter to the former, and a cottonchopping implement upon said shaft.

1n testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own 1 have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM R. SELF. lVitnesses:

GEO. W. CooHRAN, \V. H. VVEsTALL. 

